


You're not the only one Charlie Brown

by Pioneeringvoyager785



Category: Peanuts, TUGS (TV), Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends, Thomas the Tank Engine - All Media Types
Genre: Direct Quotes from Thomas and Tugs episodes, Gen, References to A Night to Remember by Walter Lord, Rerun watches Shining Time Station, Slice of Life, Storyline takes place in early 90's, The boys watch classic Thomas, Unrequited Love, VHS Tape
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:00:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28282074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pioneeringvoyager785/pseuds/Pioneeringvoyager785
Summary: While the girls (& Shermy) prepare watch A Night to Remember, Charlie Brown receives a package containing a VHS tape from his pen pal, Morag.  The tape contains something truly special from Clearwater Features, giving the boys something to prove a point to the girls. In fact, the stories of characters on the tape share several things in common with good ol' Charlie Brown.This story was made for the coincidental 70th anniversary year of Peanuts and the 75th anniversary year of Thomas the Tank engine / The railway series.Thomas and Friends is currently owned by Mattel, curtesy of the original author the late Wilbert Awdry, his remaining family, and television adaptation by Britt Alcroft.Peanuts is currently owned by the Schultz estate and Wildbrain, curtesy of the late Charles Schultz for bringing these children to life in the strips as well as Bill Melendez and Lee Mendelson for putting them onto television.TUGS's current ownership falls under the defunct Clearwater Features from the creators David Mitton and Robert Cardona, who also had part in Thomas and Friends's early production years.
Relationships: Linus van Pelt & Charlie Brown, Patty/Shermy (Peanuts) (implied), Sally Brown & Lucy van Pelt, Schroeder & Charlie Brown & Linus van Pelt
Comments: 1
Kudos: 3





	You're not the only one Charlie Brown

On a cool spring Wednesday afternoon, Charlie Brown, his sister Sally, Linus, and his older sister Lucy all were walking home from a tiring day at school. However, Lucy was uncharacteristically excited rather than crabby.

“When I went out shopping last night with mom, I managed to a hold of a really good movie,” the eldest van Pelt sibling said.

“On VHS tape?” Linus asked.

“Yes,” Lucy replied. “I was considering whether or not to get some of the others over Friday or Saturday evening for a movie night.”

“What movie is it?” Sally asked with an inquisitive look.

“ _A night to Remember_ ,” Lucy announced.

“What is it about?” asked Charlie Brown.

“It’s about the story of the Titanic as it sank. A perfect story of romance and heroism.”

“Heroism?” Charlie asked nervously.

“Romance?” Sally asked, a dazed look filling her eyes.

Linus saw her look and quickly tried to change the subject. “Last I checked, it was story of inevitable tragedy because there weren’t enough lifeboats for the passengers and crew.”

“I know,” Lucy said, “That’s what makes the story so romantic. It was the choice between life and death to save those you love.”

Hearts were bubbling up around Sally as Lucy’s description put amazing fantasies in her head. “Can I watch the movie with you, Lucy?”

“Don’t see any harm in it,” Lucy replied.

“If you’re doing at your house, I don’t mind watching with you and my sweet baboo,” Sally said warmly, trying her best to discreetly snuggle her crush, Linus.

“I’m not your sweet baboo!” said Linus furiously. “I’ll stay the night with Charlie Brown if you two turn our house into romantic theater.”  
“We have to tell everyone,” Lucy said excitedly, “Especially my sweetie Schroeder. C’mon Sally! Let’s get the news out to everyone and start making invitations.”

With that, the two girls quickly headed off to make the arrangements for the special gathering.

“Schroeder is going to appreciate the thought just as well as I have!” Linus called after them, sarcastically, “Don’t let what he tells you break your heart.”

“You meant that, Linus?” Charlie Brown asked, pointing out Linus’s attitude.

“Not really. That’s why I made that nicer comment at the end. What are you going to do if the girls have that gathering?” Linus asked.

“Probably stay at home in my room and mope,” he replied as they continued their own walk to Charlie’s house.

“What’s got you down Charlie Brown?”

“I-it’s just my pencil pal, Morag.”

“This isn’t about her having all those other pen pals is it?” Linus asked, taking in Charlie’s disappointed expression.

“No. I sent my letter out to her last month and told her how bad I felt after losing that ballgame, not to mention the downpour afterwards and that car spraying me with mud.”

Charlie Brown shuddered at the thought of the cold rain. He’d gotten sick for a couple of days following the trek home in the rain. It easily was one of his most degrading experiences and he was completely certain that nothing he did that day was his fault.

“I wouldn’t think too much of it. Mail can get delayed when it goes international,” Linus suggested, putting his arm on Charlie’s shoulder. “Maybe she took longer to write it, and wanted to make you a good response.”

“Besides you, I don’t think anyone would be that considerate Linus,” Charlie said, drooping his head as he felt overwhelmed by his pessimism.

“What about the time Heather gave you that note?” Linus asked, giving Charlie a bright look.

Heather, or as most of the gang knew her, the little red-haired girl, was Charlie Brown’s crush. The wishy-washy boy never had spoken to her face to face, and always felt extremely nervous whenever he even thought about talking to this girl. Any attempt he did make always wound up in failure or embarrassment for poor Charlie Brown. With each failure, the boy felt more depressed as his goal seemed to drift farther away from him. Fortunately, it was dampened when she slipped a note into his hand during a homeward rush on his last day of second grade. Charlie had remained hopeful for an affectionate relationship between the two of them ever since the exchange, but it was no avail. 

“That makes me think about what you just said to Lucy and Sally.”

“The romantic theater?”

“Yes, I don’t have anyone I could bring to something like that.”

“Bring to the theater?!” Linus’s eyes widened. “Do you know how much I **don’t** want to go to that gathering myself?! I was serious about what I said to them. I’m not interested in giving any girl a theater date. Every time I even talk about going to see a movie, your sister tries to turn it into her dream come true.”

At that moment the two boys finally reached the porch of Charlie Brown’s house. Charlie made a long sigh as he sat down on a chair. “You’re really serious about staying the night on Friday or Saturday?”

“Of course,” Linus answered thoughtfully, “I’ll ask my mom and dad as soon as I know what Lucy is doing.”

“Okay. I’ll do the same,” Charlie said as his face lightened a little. “If Sally gets the gathering over here, we’ll do it the other way around.”

“Sounds like a good plan. Let’s get our homework done, and then it’ll be time for us to split up for the day.”

After going inside Charlie’s house and getting drinks of water, the two boys worked diligently for half an hour. Charlie looked up from his work, putting his attention on Linus and asked, “How far do you think the girls are with making their invitations?”

“Knowing them, they’ve probably made paper ones and are half way finished… but they have to make their ‘do NOT invite’ cards too, so I can’t say,” Linus answered, shrugging his shoulders.

Meanwhile, at the van Pelt residence, Linus’s guess was very accurate. The girls had already finished their homework, and were making several decorated invitation cards.

“How many of these will we need?” Sally asked as she finished her second invitation.

“Let’s see,” Lucy said as she picked a piece of paper. After briefly glancing at its contents, the eldest van Pelt sibling placed the paper on the table where the two girls were working. “This paper has a list of everyone we’re considering inviting.”

Sally looked over at it, reading the paper for herself. It was filled with plenty of names she recognized. Most of them came from their talk on the way to Lucy’s house. As they talked earlier, the girls planned to give the invitations to their friends and acquaintances the next day at school. Sally decided to invite Eudora and spread the message along to Freida. Lucy intended to personally deliver her invitation to Schroeder at his house after Sally left for home, but realized it would be too close to her curfew. For certain, she knew she could get Violet to see the movie if she told her that Shermy and Patty S. would be there.

“I think our biggest problem will be getting Violet to come over,” Lucy said.

“What are you going to do to Violet?” Sally asked.

“Nothing. We’ll tell her that Shermy and Patty will be at the gathering too.”

“You actually want to invite them?”

“Sure.”

“None of us have even talked to the two of them in over a year. That’s a long time, Lucy.”

“That’s why the two of us will talk to each of them together.”

Sally nodded, taking in the plan. “What else?”

“Is it possible for us to do the gathering at your house for sure, Sally?”

“Of course, why do you think I wrote my address on the invitations. You think I’d waste my time making things that’ll mess up?”

“Perfect! In that case, I know Violet will come. Plus, I can trick Linus into thinking the gathering will be here.”

Sally smiled. When Lucy was involved in making things go right, she did it with an iron fist. Sally felt so confident Lucy could help her that she began daydreaming about her sweet baboo. She easily could see herself hugging him on her couch, enjoying the movie.

It took another half hour for the two girls to finish all the invitations, each complete with decorations, and a drawing of a sail boat on the ocean. However, one invitation stood out like a sore thumb with its decorations of hearts, star stickers, and a drawing of a blue dress girl holding the hand of a blond boy sitting on a sinking steamship. Sally packed her invitations and school books into her backpack before sitting in front of the television with Lucy. She saw a slot below the tv screen, noticing the barely readable text on it.

“Is that where you put movies in your tv?” the youngest Brown sibling asked.

Lucy made no reaction. “Yes,” she replied plainly, not thinking too much of Sally’s question.

“It looks more like a slot where the mailman puts letters through the front door of dad’s barber shop.”

“Why isn’t it easier to put it in a box?”

“The only boxes by the shop are the post office boxes like the one over on the corner at the end of the road.”

Lucy turned her attention back to the tv. 

No sooner had she done settled down, the front door opened, revealing her brother and good ol’ Charlie Brown.

“How did it go making the invitations?” Charlie asked.

“I’ve finished mine and have one right here for my sweet baboo,” Sally answered as she pulled out her small invitation card for Linus.

Linus groaned in annoyance.

“Sally, you know that’s not so,” Charlie Brown said.

“I still want to give it to him.”

After briefly glancing over its contents, Linus sighed. “No thanks. I’m going where ever Charlie Brown is on Friday. I don’t care which of our houses it is.”

“You heard what he said Sally, let’s go,” Charlie said before heading toward the door. “Stay safe, you two,” he called back to the van Pelts, bidding them farewell.

The two Brown siblings made their trek back home in complete silence. The only sounds emanating around them were the light tapping of their feet as the two walked along the sidewalk, and the distant echoes of cars passing on the main road a couple of miles from the neighborhood. When they reached their home, Sally finally broke the silence.

“We’re having our movie gathering, yet you’ve invited my sweet baboo over without anything planned.”

Charlie Brown considered his sister’s words. They stung like bees, but they were true regardless.

“You don’t deserve to steal my sweet baboo. If he stays, we’ll have a special n…” Sally said, continuing her complaints.

Charlie had since drowned her complaints out with his thoughts on the weighty subject. How could he make his time with Linus on Friday just as memorable as his sister’s movie night?

Instead of dwelling further, he looked over to the familiar sight on the doghouse in his backyard. Snoopy, his pet beagle, was calmly sleeping on his back on the roof. For most dogs, this would be unusual, but Snoopy isn’t a usual beagle. Seeing the pinkening evening sky, the bald boy immediately went inside his house. 

“Were you listening to me, big brother?” Sally’s sassy voice called after him as he went through the front door.

Charlie Brown made no response, and continued into the kitchen. From one of the cabinets, he pulled out a can. Next, he grabbed a can opener from the drawer below the counter. He gripped the opener tightly, allowing it lace through the tin of the can, and exposing the food within it.

“You ignored me and are making food for that stupid beagle!” Sally pouted as she entered the kitchen.

“At least I can be responsible with my dog,” he muttered under his breath. “You know what time it is, Sally. Snoopy! Suppertime!”

Instantly, Snoopy rushed through the door from the backyard with his bowl in his mouth. Equally fast, the beagle dropped his bowl on the floor, ready for his bald owner to pour the food into it.

Charlie Brown sighed and did just so. No sooner had the wishy-washy boy poured the food, Snoopy began digging into the food.

“Now, are you going to tell me what you even thought of?” Sally said with indignation.

“What?!” Charlie Brown exclaimed.

“You weren’t listening!”

“About Friday?”

“Yes!”

“We’ll simply do something different than what you girls will do Friday,” Charlie Brown hurriedly said, half lying.

“Alright. What then?” Sally asks, placing her hands onto her hips.

“I-I’ll know when it comes time,” Charlie replied in a somewhat uncertain tone. Not wanting to continue the conversation and face his sister’s wrath, the Brown household’s eldest sibling exited the kitchen.

“Good grief, you stupid blockhead brother,” Sally muttered. “Such a blatant liar…” 

**Author's Note:**

> Originally this was going to be a oneshot, but the production length of this story forced me to split this into two. Mainly, I just wanted to get this out before the year ended. Now, that this is up on the site, I'll have the full story completed in a few days. 
> 
> To those curious about the image posted at the beginning, I made a simple edit using MS paint from the official anniversary icons by both franchises. Then, made the additional: "A Double Anniversary Special" through a text box and shapes matching the gold color. 
> 
> I felt like making this story was an obligation, especially with the news regarding one of the three franchises. Peanuts, integrally is doing what Thomas originally did during its classic era, and Wildbrain, Apple TV, and Schultz's family are still planning to continue it. I clearly can see it, and it's so unfortunate that reviewers in the Thomas fandom aren't turning to this series to use it for comparison.  
> Too many similarities exist across the board for both these series, even down to their pre publication dates, which are 1942 for the original first 3 Three Railway Engines stories and 1947 for Lil' Folks. With all these factors in play, I have small wonders why no one has attempted to link these two through fanfiction. In fact, I'm certain I've never seen these two fandoms blended on this level on any fanfiction website.
> 
> I never have personally written anything for these specific fandoms, so bear with me a little bit. I mostly have been inspired by the countless stories made in the train simulators as well as various fanfictions. Thank you all for reading through this note and this chapter to the end. I appreciate any constructive feedback, positive or negative, it truly does help.


End file.
